Thoughts on the military and military activities of a diverse nature. Free-ranging and eclectic.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Patrol II.

This is coolbert:

Patrol! Define that word patrol!

Back to the topic of Russian and additionally Chinese submarine activity too!

From Bubbleheads somewhat dated [2009] but still an indication of submarine activity, those two nations perceived as aggressive but their record of patrols somewhat sub-standard when compared to American submariners and their missions and voyages. Thanks to Joel for his blog entry.

"China nearly doubled the number of patrols by its fleet of attack submarines last year [2008], surpassing Russia but still far behind the United States"

"The report, based on declassified information provided by US naval intelligence, said Chinese attack submarines conducted 12 patrols in 2008, compared to seven in 2007, two in 2006 and none in 2005."

"'While the increase in submarine patrols is important, it has to be seen in comparison with the size of the Chinese submarine fleet,'"

"'With approximately 54 submarines, the patrol rate means that each submarine on average goes on patrol once every four and a half years,'"

"The patrols may have been carried out by just the most modern and capable types of submarines in the Chinese fleet"

"...'The patrol rate of the US attack submarine fleet, which is focused on long-range patrols and probably operate regularly near the Chinese coast, is much higher with each submarine conducting at least one extended patrol per year,'"

'But the Chinese patrol rate is higher than that of the Russian navy, which in 2008 conducted only seven attack submarine patrols, the same as in 2007,' it said."

A patrol within the Russian or Chinese context might be for a few days or even a few hours! NOT a patrol as understood in the western sense of the word, a mission by a submarine lasting months.